In the brutally competitive jetliner business, the announcement in late 2010 that Airbus would introduce a more fuel-efficient version of its best-selling A320 amounted to a frontal assault on its archrival Boeing’s workhorse 737. Boeing scrambled to counterpunch. Within months, it came up with a plan for an upgrade of its own, the 737 Max, featuring engines that would yield similar fuel savings. And in the years that followed, Boeing pushed not just to design and build the new plane, but to persuade its airline customers and, crucially, the FAA, that the new model would fly safely and handle enough like the existing model that 737 pilots would not have to undergo costly retraining. Boeing’s strategy set off a cascading series of engineering, business and regulatory decisions that years later would leave the company facing difficult questions about the crash in October of a Lion Air 737 Max off Indonesia. The causes of the crash, which killed 189 people, are still under investigation. Indonesian authorities are studying the cockpit voice recorder for insights into how the pilots handled the emergency, and are examining Lion Air’s long history of maintenance problems. But the tragedy has become a focus of intense interest and debate in aviation circles because of another factor: the determination by Boeing and the FAA that pilots did not need to be informed about a change introduced to the 737’s flight control system for the Max, some software coding intended to automatically offset the risk that the size and location of the new engines could lead the aircraft to stall under certain conditions. Story goes into much more detail.<br/>
unaligned
Hawaiian Airlines says a flight bound for Maui returned to the gate at Los Angeles International Airport three times for three separate problems before finally being cancelled. Spokesman Alex Da Silva says Flight 33 took off and landed again twice on Saturday. A third time the jetliner pushed back from the gate and then came back. Da Silva says each return was "due to separate and unrelated faults with different systems." He didn't elaborate. The more than 200 passengers were given hotel rooms and will be placed on other flights. Da Silva says Flight 33 is categorized as an "extended-range operation" because of the distance between LAX and Maui's Kahului Airport. He says such flights require more safety precautions.<br/>
A startup airline that had hoped to capitalize on the growth of northern San Diego County has shuttered after flying for only about two months. California Pacific Airlines, which launched flights on Nov. 1 last year from Carlsbad, California to San Jose, halted service in late December, citing a nationwide pilot shortage. The airline, which operated Embraer SA E145 aircraft, had planned to complete additional pilot training in January and resume service. The carrier, which had nearly 90 employees, put all staff on furlough Jan. 18 “with no return to work date,” company spokesman Ryan DiVita said Thursday. He referred further questions to the airline’s Carlsbad office, which did not return a call seeking comment. “CPA regrets the pilot shortage has impacted its customers and appreciates their patience while working to minimize the length of downtime,” the company said Dec. 28. The airline, which operated Embraer SA E145 aircraft, had planned to complete additional pilot training in January and resume service.<br/>
Emirates is weighing a fresh order for Boeing’s behemoth 777X twin-aisle plane as part of a complex series of transactions that would remake its fleet plans and likely spell the end of Airbus SE’s A380 superjumbo jet, people familiar with the matter said. The moves probably wouldn’t be a ringing victory for Boeing or a total defeat for Airbus. Emirates is considering at least 20 of the 777X planes while weighing the cancellation of an existing deal for 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, said the people, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. For Airbus, the airline is looking at cutting the A380 order while studying orders for the wide-body A350 jetliner and slow-selling A330neo, the people said. With the reshuffled agreements, Emirates President Tim Clark would split both pain and rewards between the rival planemakers. The juggling act is emerging as one of the preferred options for Emirates as it looks to break a deadlock with Rolls-Royce Holdings over terms to supply engines for the airline’s most recent A380 deal, the people said. Clark is known for putting pressure on suppliers, and the final outcome of the talks isn’t yet certain, the people cautioned. The negotiations over the Emirates order for as many as 36 A380s had reached an impasse toward the end of last year, with alternative plans being drawn up in the last few weeks, one of the people said.<br/>